âYou Are A Beautiful Woman.â
Maxâs words hurt in a way he couldnât understandâand she dared not explain. At one time, sheâd have tossed her hair and given him a smile that would have brought him to his knees. But nowâ¦
âNot anymore.â She couldnât believe those words had escaped. âHow long will you be in Vegas?â
âLong enough to convince you that you are beautiful.â He took her hand in his, his thumb stroking over her knuckle.
âThatâs not why you came,â she said, telling herself he was here for the Vegas allure. The mindless flirting, the hours of gambling.
âMy plans have changed.â
Roxy OâMalley stared critically at the body in the mirror. For the first time in her life she was embarrassed by how she looked. She skimmed her gaze and her hands down the tight Spandex running bra that ended just below her 36DD breasts. That part wasnât bad.
Always when she got this far, she wanted to stop. She wanted to pretend that the last three months had never happened. Pretend that when she glanced lower all sheâd see was the smooth skin of her midriff and stomach. Pretend that her life and what she knew about herself were still true.
She closed her eyes for a brief second, her hand going to her stomach. The ridges of the scars werenât rough against her fingers, but she thought they should be. The texture was differentâforeignâand Roxy OâMalley, whoâd once been called the most gorgeous bod on the Vegas strip, glanced down at the three scars. Three of them. One would have been bad enough, but three?
âHey, sexy lady! Admiring the view?â
Roxy glanced over her shoulder at her boss and friend Hayden MacKenzie. She forced a cheerful note into her voice. âHi, Hay! Whatâs up?â
Hayden was a tall, good-looking man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes that always made Roxy feel like he could see straight to the heart of her vulnerabilities.
Quickly she dropped her hand and picked up the T-shirt sheâd left draped on the back of the weight machine. She couldnât look him in the eye until she covered up. She would have turned away from him for privacy, but her back was worse than her stomach. Alan Technety had made sure of that. Because sheâd broken up with him, heâd decided to make sure no other man would want her.
Heâd also ensured sheâd never dance again by cutting her so deeply on her left leg that heâd damaged the muscles and tendons. She couldnât even walk without a limp, which was worse than having the scars. Her body, which sheâd always counted on, the one thing in her life that sheâd always been able to control, was now out of her control.
Alan had done better than he could have expected. Heâd made it so she didnât even want herself anymore. And her face had never been her vanityâAlan had known that and had focused instead on the lean dancerâs body that sheâd kept honed and in top form through careful diet and exercise.
âI need a favor, but only if you feel up to it,â Hayden said.
âOkay, what do you need?â She walked to the small refrigerator in the employeesâ gym that held bottles of sports drink and water. It was only five oâclock in the morning. Normally Roxy was completely alone in the gym. She was surprised to see Hayden down here so early. The newlywed was besotted with his new bride and everyone in the casino knew Hayden and Shelby had a ritual breakfast every morning.
âWell, I want you to stop dealing,â he said.
She froze. For the last month, since sheâd been off on medical leave, Hayden had assigned her to work at the blackjack tables. Dealing wasnât really her thing, but she could do itâand she couldnât go back to headlining the European-style revue in the main theatre of the Chimera Resort and Casino. Being a dealer was a bit of a struggle, because she was on her feet all day and thanks to her leg injury, standing was a pain. Literally. But there was nothing else for her to do at the casino and living off charityâeven Haydenâs disguised charityâby taking an extended leave of absence was something she couldnât tolerate.